Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Switzerland.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Switzerland enjoy a close and dynamic relationship underpinned by our democratic traditions, our shared values and our strong commitment to innovation and to science and technology. The Foreign Secretary met with the Swiss Foreign Minister in Kuala Lumpur on 11 July and will meet again soon to discuss our priorities on Russia/Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East, European Security, growth and partnering on illicit finance and fighting corruption.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Moldova.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Moldova is a valued partner of the United Kingdom. Since the start of this parliament, we have strengthened our relationship through the conclusion of agreements on defence and security, the mutual recognition of driving licences, and returns. In May, we held the fourth UK-Moldova Strategic Dialogue and an inaugural Illicit Finance Dialogue, reaffirming our commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation across key sectors. The UK is providing support to Moldova to tackle foreign interference in the run up to their parliamentary elections. This includes providing election observers, countering disinformation, and addressing the flows of money used for vote-buying and illegal funding of political parties.
In the past year, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and I have all visited Moldova. The Prime Minister has met with President Sandu on four occasions, most recently when she visited the UK on 23 July. I met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Popsoi in Antalya in April to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Ireland are uniquely linked through shared geography and history: we have undergone a reset of our relationship, restoring a partnership of trust. Our relationship continues to go from strength to strength.
This was cemented at the UK-Ireland Summit in March, where the Prime Minister and Taoiseach agreed an ambitious vision for UK-Ireland relations through to 2030, covering areas including growth, security, energy, conflict prevention, cyber, research, and culture, that will bring our two Governments even closer together in delivering for our citizens. The Foreign Secretary visited Dublin in October 2024, spoke to Tánaiste Simon Harris by telephone on 27 January and met him at the G20 summit on 21 February. On 3 July 2025, I met with my counterpart Minister Thomas Byrne in Dublin to discuss further opportunities to enhance UK-Ireland cooperation.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Greece.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK-Greece relationship is strong and deep across many shared interests. From our work together in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to tackling shared the challenge of migration, to joint efforts to resolve and deescalate the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine.
The UK and Greece signed a Strategic Bilateral Framework in 2021 to strengthen cooperation in twelve areas including foreign policy, defence, trade, migration and maritime security. The Government has engaged with Greece regularly at leader and Foreign Ministerial level to progress this cooperation. I met with my counterpart, Minister Papadopoulou, most recently through a productive bilateral meeting in New York in the margins of Cyprus 5+1 talks, where we discussed cooperation as co-guarantor powers on Cyprus, and as NATO allies in supporting Ukraine. I also met Foreign Minister Gerapetritis.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Lithuania.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Lithuania across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies. The Prime Minister met President Nausėda in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders Summit, and the Foreign Secretary hosted Foreign Minister Budrys in London in March. I also hosted Foreign Minister Budrys in March.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Croatia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Croatia is a valued partner of the United Kingdom, both bilaterally and as a NATO Ally. In 2022 we signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement, covering defence cooperation, and in 2023 a Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation, which committed us to working together on shared priorities, from support to Ukraine, scientific collaboration, clean energy, to tackling irregular migration through the Western Balkans route. We also hold annual joint military exercises, and over 800,000 British tourists visit every year, strengthening our people-to-people links. Our Foreign Secretaries last met in London in March, and our Prime Ministers met in May at the European Political Community summit in Tirana. I last held a strategic dialogue with my counterpart in November 2024. This meeting deepened our shared understanding and cooperation on our priority issues.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Austria.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Austria. A Joint Vision Statement was signed in 2023 to deepen cooperation across foreign and security policy, on economic issues and in encouraging people-to-people links. Consultations between the UK and Austria on the Vision Statement are held annually, with the last such meeting held in June 2025. Cooperation on migration and security has also been formalised over the last two years, including following up on the Joint Statement on tackling illegal migration in May 2024. The Prime Minister wrote to his opposite Chancellor Stocker on his appointment in March 2025, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Meinl-Reisinger in March and I engaged Europe Minister Plakolm in May.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Latvia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Latvia across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies, and are deepening cooperation at the United Nations as Latvia prepares to join the Security Council for the first time in 2026-27. The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Siliņa in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders Summit, and the Minister for the Cabinet Office met Foreign Minister Braže in March. I hosted State Secretary Viļumsons in March.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Luxembourg.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government has a strong bilateral relationship with our NATO ally Luxembourg, underpinned by a bilateral framework agreement which spans a wide range of common interests, including defence, financial services, energy security, human rights and tackling climate change. The Foreign Secretary hosted Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on 10 February in London where discussions included deepening our cooperation to intensify pressure on Russia and reinforce support for Ukraine.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Serbia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is building a modern and forward-looking partnership with Serbia. In April, the Foreign Secretary visited Serbia and signed three Memorandums of Understanding, on migration and cyber cooperation, and on UK Export Finance. On 17 and 18 July the Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Dame Karen Pierce, visited Serbia to underline the importance of Serbia playing a constructive role in regional stability. I visited Belgrade in January 2025 and met with President Vučić and Foreign Minister Ðurić. I have spoken with the Foreign Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister on a range of topics. The UK looks forward to hosting Serbia at the Berlin Process Summit this autumn which will strengthen co-operation on our common security and economic growth objectives, including tackling irregular migration and serious organised crime.